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Possible Exposure? or nothing to worry about?
Hello Doctor,
On July 1, 2011 I had an encounter with a Transsexual escort. My intention was to have sex with her (with protection of course) but I could not fully erect. She gave me oral twice and I attempted to insert twice, but could not. During the heat of the moment I also pressed my face into her buttocks and touched the exterior of her anus. I finally gave up and ended our meeting.
Approximately three weeks later I woke up w/ a sore throat, bad cough, stuffy nose, and low-grade fever which all lasted a couple of days. While I was getting better I developed a canker sore inside my mouth on my lip (that went away in 4-5 days).
Fast forward to August, I developed oral thrush, chest pain, constant sore throat, and what seemed like GERD. My throat was a concern because it was very red and I developed a small sore towards the back - close to the throat.
All the above symptoms are, from what I researched, indicative of a HIV infection. So instead of wondering I went for testing. I tested w/ a Rapid Ora-quick finger-prick at 4 weeks, 6 weeks, 8 weeks, and 11 ½ weeks post exposure. I went to Planned Parenthood, which from what I hear, is a good facility.
I should mention that during all of this I was on an Antibiotic treatment (Ceftin, Mynocycline, and Flagyl) for Lyme disease (Started it on 7/17 and ended 8/16).
Much of symptoms have subsided except for the Oral Thrush. My question is should I continue testing? I’m going for another rapid test at 15 weeks. This has really consumed my life. The Thrush is still present and I am treating it with liquid Nystatin. Isn’t it odd that the thrush is still present after well over a month?
Thank you for your time!
On July 1, 2011 I had an encounter with a Transsexual escort. My intention was to have sex with her (with protection of course) but I could not fully erect. She gave me oral twice and I attempted to insert twice, but could not. During the heat of the moment I also pressed my face into her buttocks and touched the exterior of her anus. I finally gave up and ended our meeting.
Approximately three weeks later I woke up w/ a sore throat, bad cough, stuffy nose, and low-grade fever which all lasted a couple of days. While I was getting better I developed a canker sore inside my mouth on my lip (that went away in 4-5 days).
Fast forward to August, I developed oral thrush, chest pain, constant sore throat, and what seemed like GERD. My throat was a concern because it was very red and I developed a small sore towards the back - close to the throat.
All the above symptoms are, from what I researched, indicative of a HIV infection. So instead of wondering I went for testing. I tested w/ a Rapid Ora-quick finger-prick at 4 weeks, 6 weeks, 8 weeks, and 11 ½ weeks post exposure. I went to Planned Parenthood, which from what I hear, is a good facility.
I should mention that during all of this I was on an Antibiotic treatment (Ceftin, Mynocycline, and Flagyl) for Lyme disease (Started it on 7/17 and ended 8/16).
Much of symptoms have subsided except for the Oral Thrush. My question is should I continue testing? I’m going for another rapid test at 15 weeks. This has really consumed my life. The Thrush is still present and I am treating it with liquid Nystatin. Isn’t it odd that the thrush is still present after well over a month?
Thank you for your time!
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to our forum. I'll be pleased to comment. For starters, your exposure did not put you at risk for HIV- neither receipt of oral sex or placing your face into and onto her buttocks and anus are associated with risk for HIV. In addition, while your symptoms occurred at about the right time to represent symptoms of early HIV, the fact is that they were coincidence, not representative of infection. In fact, this is the case for most persons who get such symptoms.
Your thrush is likely due to your antibiotics.
Your testing is absolutely reliable and confirms that you did not get HIV from these no risk exposures. Any testing more than 8 weeks after exposure is reliable and your repeated test at 8 and 11.5 weeks rules out any possibility that the test was not done right. Planned parenthood is a reliable source of testing. Believe your results.
My advice is to stop worrying about HIV. You did not get it from the exposure you described and no further testing is needed. As for your thrush, I would ask your doctor if you could be treated with oral fluconazole- it may be more effective than the nystatin.
I hope these comments and suggestions are helpful. EWH
Your thrush is likely due to your antibiotics.
Your testing is absolutely reliable and confirms that you did not get HIV from these no risk exposures. Any testing more than 8 weeks after exposure is reliable and your repeated test at 8 and 11.5 weeks rules out any possibility that the test was not done right. Planned parenthood is a reliable source of testing. Believe your results.
My advice is to stop worrying about HIV. You did not get it from the exposure you described and no further testing is needed. As for your thrush, I would ask your doctor if you could be treated with oral fluconazole- it may be more effective than the nystatin.
I hope these comments and suggestions are helpful. EWH
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Sorry you missed your trip. Please believe your test results. Further testing is a waste of time and money. EWH
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Yes, your 11.5 week result is reliable and should be believed. Further testing is not needed from a medical perspective but if you need it for your peace of mind, either a laboratory based ELISA or a Rapid test would be equally reliable. Personally, I'd rather go fishing and it would be a more productive use of my time.
I understand your anxiety but the fact it, this was still a no risk event. EWH
I understand your anxiety but the fact it, this was still a no risk event. EWH
Okay, Doctor. Thank you for your time.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Further testing for HIV is a waste of time. You did not get HIV. The stories of persons talking 6 months to converet their test are old data and not pertinent to you. I would discuss the issue of your thrush with your doctor but HIV is not a concern.
This will end this thread. EWH
This will end this thread. EWH
Doctor, unfortunately I'm back.
I don’t know if there is a question limit on this forum, but I figured I try. I'm just driving myself crazy. If I need to pay another fee, I will.
Well, as you know I had an exposure (see above) and got tested (Rapid) at 4, 6, 8 and 11 weeks and Blood work at a Labcorp (HIV Antibody + PCR) at 14.5 weeks. All negative.
However, I mentioned in my previous post, in addition to some concerning symptoms early on, I also had Oral Thrush. Today, 3 months since it started, the Oral Thrush is still there! Today I scarped some of the stuff off and it started to bleed. Scary! I was prescribed Nystatin for 2 weeks last month and it improved a little bit, but it came back strong. Now I’m taking oral lozenges for 10 days. I’m half way through and I don’t see any big improvement.
In your opinion, what should I do? I don’t see why I should continue testing for HIV, but when I search for causes, HIV is on the top of the list! Now I did mention that I was on Antibiotics to treat Lyme. I took three different antibiotics for one month - I stopped on August 17th. Antibiotics I know can also cause Oral Thrush, but can it cause that much of a ‘damage’ that oral thrush is still with me 3 month later? I’ve read that HIV can take 6 months for it to show up on tests, sometimes even a year!
Please help – Thank you!
I don’t know if there is a question limit on this forum, but I figured I try. I'm just driving myself crazy. If I need to pay another fee, I will.
Well, as you know I had an exposure (see above) and got tested (Rapid) at 4, 6, 8 and 11 weeks and Blood work at a Labcorp (HIV Antibody + PCR) at 14.5 weeks. All negative.
However, I mentioned in my previous post, in addition to some concerning symptoms early on, I also had Oral Thrush. Today, 3 months since it started, the Oral Thrush is still there! Today I scarped some of the stuff off and it started to bleed. Scary! I was prescribed Nystatin for 2 weeks last month and it improved a little bit, but it came back strong. Now I’m taking oral lozenges for 10 days. I’m half way through and I don’t see any big improvement.
In your opinion, what should I do? I don’t see why I should continue testing for HIV, but when I search for causes, HIV is on the top of the list! Now I did mention that I was on Antibiotics to treat Lyme. I took three different antibiotics for one month - I stopped on August 17th. Antibiotics I know can also cause Oral Thrush, but can it cause that much of a ‘damage’ that oral thrush is still with me 3 month later? I’ve read that HIV can take 6 months for it to show up on tests, sometimes even a year!
Please help – Thank you!
Thank you for responding, Doctor.
I will take my test results serious and move on with my life!
Thank you so much for your help!
Farewell!
I will take my test results serious and move on with my life!
Thank you so much for your help!
Farewell!
Hello Doctor, Well my nerves got the best of me and I canceled the fishing trip to go my scheduled Doctor's appointment. He ordered blood work and I went the next day to Labcorp (14.5 weeks post exposure). I called the Doctor's office a few days later and the nurse told me everything came back negative. I of course asked for the results to be mailed to me and I received them today: HIV 1/O/2 ABS Qual. - Non Reactive. RNA, Real Time PCR - Not Detected. Can I move on? Should I re-test at 6 months, which is in 8 weeks? This has really consumed my life and would really appreciate your expert opinion. Thank you!
Thank you Doctor. I will try to move on!
Doctor, thank you so much for such a prompt respone!
Coindidence is what I hoping for! So my (Oraquick) rapid test at 11.5 is conclusive? I already have an appointment for a rapid test next week (15 weeks Post-exposure) so i may go just to put this behind me. Should I consider a ELISA Lab test to make it official or are Rapid test as reliable? Or should i just forget testing all together and go fishing instead? :)
Eventhough you say it was a No-Risk event, i'm still worried that I may turn up positive down the road.
Coindidence is what I hoping for! So my (Oraquick) rapid test at 11.5 is conclusive? I already have an appointment for a rapid test next week (15 weeks Post-exposure) so i may go just to put this behind me. Should I consider a ELISA Lab test to make it official or are Rapid test as reliable? Or should i just forget testing all together and go fishing instead? :)
Eventhough you say it was a No-Risk event, i'm still worried that I may turn up positive down the road.
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